Fair leader



J 1951 R. E. LUSHBAUGH 38,

FAIR LEADER Filed June 13, 1946 IN V EN TOR.

: 0L E. Lu/h ba ugh 5AM,

Patented Jan. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 3 Claims.

The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a fair leader, and more particularly to a hardware element for the attachment of wnt lines in the erection of a tent.

A conventional tent cons'sts of canvas supported by one or more upright tent poles, and is held in upright position by a number of lines attached at one end to grommet holes in the canvas and at the other end to tent pegs driven into the ground. This method of support has the disadvantage that it imposes a great strain on the canvas and leads to its quick deterioration at its points of attachment to the lines; it also leads to fraying of the tent lines because of abrasion in the course of adjusting their length by running them back and forth through the grommet holes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for the attachment of tent lines to a tent, which minimize strain on the tent fabric.

Another object of the present invention is a fair leader for use in connection with a tent and constructed to accommodate tent lines without fraying the same in the course of adjustment.

A further object of this invention is an article of hardware, primarily for use in conjunction with a tent, which is simple of construction and which can be cheaply mass produced by casting or other conventional methods of manufacturmg.

Still another object of my invention is a fair leader having means to steady its position relative to a tent.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following description.

Fair leaders are extensively used for marine purposes as guides for running ropes. A fair leader in accordance with my invention consists of an elongated body, preferably but not necessarily of cylindrical shape, which has transverse, stream-lined passages therethrough for the accommodation of ground-connected tent lines, and which has at one end an eye or similar means to connect thereto a line extending to the ridge of the tent, and at the other end a hook or similar means for engaging a small aperturein the tent canvas for the purpose of preventing the device from swaying.

A preferred embodiment of my invention and its application to a tent are shown in the accompanying drawings by way of example for the purpose of illustrating the same, without however limiting the scope of my invention to that example.

Fig. 1 is ,a perspective View of a tent, partly broken away, and of tent lines and the fair leader of the present invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a fair leader in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 3 is a front View, partly in elevation and partly in section, corresponding to Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

More particularly, a fair leader in accordance with my invention, which is cast or turned or similarly made preferably though not necessarily in one piece, consists of an elongated rigid, preferably cylindrical body H, through which are provided spaced transverse passages l2, l3. Each passage is adapted to receive a rope E or E, and preferably flares outwardly from its center in order to minimize fraying of the rope. At one end of the fair leader is provided an eye 14 for the attachment of a tent line, rope, or web strap C, which may be threaded through eye It or attached thereto by means of a hook D or similar device. Near the opposite end of the fair leader is a lateral projection in the form of a substantially L-shaped open hook it pointing in the direction of that other end, the median plane of hook l5 and the center lines of passages i2, 13, being normal relative to each other; hook I5 is adapted to engage a grommet hole 56 in tent A. The waist portion of the fair leader is preferably reduced in diameter at El between passages l2 and i3, chiefly for the purpose of saving material and Weight.

The use of a fair leader as described above relieves the tent fabric from practically all the strain caused by the pull of the ground-connected tent ropes E, E. The strain is transferred to the main upright pole F through line C which is conveniently connected to the top of the upright pole by means of a perforated ridge plate B, which is more fully described in my application for a ridge plate filed c-oncurrentl; with the present application.

Instead of using two ground-connected ropes E, E, a single rope may be used, which will extend in the same plane as ridge-connected line C. To meet such an arrangement, the fair leader may be redesigned by providing it with only one transverse passage; however, a fair leader with a plurality of transverse passages l2, l3 can 010- viously be used in conjunction with a single ground-connected rope as well.

It will be understood that the proportions, relative position of parts and passages, and other dethe objects of my invention. Such changes and other modifications which Will readily occur to the expert are considered to fall Within the scope of m invention. I therefore intend to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fair leader adapted for cooperative engagement with a tent and tent lines, comprising a rigid elongated substantially cylindrical body, a line attachment eye on one end of said body, an open hook laterally projecting from said body proximate the other end of said body and extencl-- ing in the direction of said last-named end and adapted to engage said tent, and an elongated transverse passage through said cylindrical body in a plane intermediate said eye and the free end of said hook, the center line of said passage being normal to the median plane of said hook.

2. A fair leader adapted for cooperative engagement with a tent and tent lines,-cornprising a rigid elongated substantially cylindrical body, a line attachment eye on one end of said body, an open hook laterally projecting from said body proximate the other end of said body and extending in the direction of said last-named end and adapted to engage said tent, and a pluralit of parallel spaced elongated transverse passages through said cy'indrical body in a plane intermediate said eye and the free end of said hook,

the center lines of said passages being normal to the median plane of said hook.

3. A fair leader adapted for cooperative engagement with a tent and tent lines, comprising a rigid elongated substantially cylindrical body, a line attachment eye on one end of said body, an open hook laterally projecting from said body proximate the other end of said body and extending in the direction of said last-named end and adapted to engage said tent, a constricted portion in the center region of said cylindrical body, two parallel elongated transverse passages through said cylindrical body, disposed on opposite sides of said constricted portion, the center lines of said passages being normal to the median plane of said hook.

ROY E. LUSI-IBAUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 48,922 Fletcher July 25, 1865 436,252 Miller Sept. 9,- 1890 1,383,665 Rohan July 5, 1921 1,546,798 Seagren July 21, 1925 1,714,770 Finn Niay 28, 1929 

